Saturday, 25 February

Oxfordshire Prostate Cancer Support Group

Newsletter February 2017

NEXT GROUP MEETING - Monday 13 March 6.30 for 7.00 p.m. at Oxford Golf Club, Hill Top Road, OX4 1PF.

AGM, followed by talks from Simon Brewster, consultant urologist, about the current status of active surveillance of prostate cancer in the UK, and Dr Andrew Protheroe, consultant oncologist, about ‘Immunotherapy for patients with Prostate cancer - does it have a role?’  If you have specific questions that you would like to put to Mr Brewster or Dr Protheroe, please email them to me in advance.

NB There will not be a raffle at this meeting.

SECRETARY NEEDED FOR 2017

We still need to fill the role of Secretary following Mike Warner’s retirement at the AGM.  If you think that you might be able to contribute to the Group in this way, contact me to get an idea of what is involved.

NEXT EVENT: Oxford United’s home match on Saturday 4 March.  We already have a good number of volunteers but need one or two more to cover the whole area.  There’s usually a free ticket to the match for those who help out.  This is primarily a fund raising event jointly with PCUK.

GALA CHARITY CONCERT CELEBRATING ST. DAVID – WITH COLLECTION FOR OPCSG  

The Oxfordshire Welsh Society will be holding an evening of song featuring the South Wales Male Choir in Oxford Town Hall at 7 p.m. on 4 March and is offering the proceeds of a collection on the evening to OPCSG.  It promises to be a great evening of music.  Tickets £15 are available from Tickets Oxford (01865 303305), Oxford Museum Gift Shop, Town Hall (01865 252334) or John Prout (01235 521307).

VISIT TO THE RESEARCH LABS OF CANCER RESEARCH UK - 9 MARCH

CRUK has kindly agreed to offer another visit to their fascinating research labs on the Old Road Campus, near the Churchill, exclusively for OPCSG members - Thursday 9 March from 1.30 to 4 p.m. The event will showcase the importance and breadth of cancer research in Oxford, as well as clinical trials. If you would like to join the visiting group (maximum 14 people), please let me know – contact details below. 

PROSTATE PATIENT PATHWAY RESEARCH PROJECT - CAN YOU HELP?

Emma Parker is training in Medical Physics at the Churchill Hospital to become a Clinical Scientist.  As part of her work she will be researching the Prostate Patient Pathway to see if there are any areas where she could recommend changes to improve the pathway for patients and the Trust. We would encourage members to collaborate with Emma and take part in this project. Emma writes:

“I would really appreciate input from past and current patients and their families with your opinions about being diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer at OUH (or in comparison to experiences elsewhere). This will hopefully include many positives but I am sure there are things that you may suggest as areas for possible improvement.  If you would be interested in helping me with this research, answering some questions, filling out a questionnaire, or just telling me about your experiences at OUH I would be really grateful. Please also feel free to get in touch if you have further questions.  I can be contacted via email (preferred) or phone at Emma.Parker@ouh.nhs.uk or on 01865 235516. Thank you in advance for your help!” 

AFRICAN-CARIBBEAN GROUP MEMBERS

We do not hold personal details of our members other than the contact details you provided, so we don’t know medical records, ethnic background, age etc.  You may know that African-Caribbean men are statistically at greater risk of prostate cancer than white men.  OPCSG would like to get more involved with the African-Caribbean community locally.  If you belong to that community, or know someone who does, and would like to help us with that engagement, please let me know.

THANK YOU ROGER, AND BICESTER AND WOODSTOCK MASONS

At the group meeting on 23 January OPCSG member Roger Clarke made a spontaneous and generous donation of £200 to the group.  He said it was an acknowledgement of the support and advice he had received from the group at the time of his diagnosis last year.  Also: Bicester Masonic Lodge has recently donated £100 to OPCSG, and the Marlborough Lodge of the Mark Master Masons £250.  Thank you, Roger and the Masons.

TACKLE – THE FEDERATION OF PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT GROUPS

You may be aware that OPCSG is an active member of Tackle, the federation representing all support groups nationally.  We receive their regular Newsletter.  You can access their Newsletters, including the most recent edition (Issue 35, February) here – it includes a report on two of our events/activities.

http://www.tackleprostate.org/newsletter-signup.php

FUN RUN FOR CHARITY, UNIVERSITY PARKS, 6 MAY

If you (or maybe your children – or grandchildren!!) fancy raising some money for your chosen charity, why not join in a 5K Fun Run organised by the Rotary Club of Oxford in The Parks at 11 a.m. on Saturday 6 May.  A PDF document with all the details of how to enter and how to support your charity is attached to the email version of this Newsletter.  Personally, as a dedicated walker, I find it difficult to write the words ‘fun’ and ‘run’ in the same sentence – but go on, prove me wrong!  See www.oxfordfunrun.org.uk.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 2017

These are the group meeting dates for this year.  If you have not yet attended a group meeting, be aware that they provide not only a chance to hear a guest speaker but also plenty of time to meet other members, discuss mutual issues and share the experience of being a patient of prostate cancer.

2017 GROUP MEETINGS, Mondays 6.30 for 7.00 p.m. at Oxford Golf Club, Hill Top Road, OX4 1PF

13 March AGM with consultants Simon Brewster and Andrew Protheroe;

24 April with physiotherapist Jane Newman;   

12 June, ‘Tales of a Tour Manager’, John Grundy;

11 September on clinical trials with Nikki Hayward, Senior Nurse, Research and Engagement, CRUK;

16 October, programme tbc. 

2017 SOCIAL EVENTS: Sunday 25 June, river cruise from Wallingford; Saturday 9 December skittles.

Volunteers are always needed to help at AWARENESS EVENTS including 4 March at Oxford United FC; 7 May Wallingford Vintage Car rally; 26 June Cassington Bike Night; 22 July Witney Vintage Steam Fair; 28 August Uffington White Horse Fair; 24 September Distinguished Gentlemen’s Ride.  These events are our main opportunity to spread our message to the public – GET CHECKED!  Please let us know any dates when you can help.

If you no longer wish to receive this Newsletter please let me know on johngrundy191@gmail.com or 01865 730110.  For news updates keep an eye on our website at www.opcsg.org.

John Grundy                                                                          Chairman, OPCSG